GUARDIAN OF THE MARVEL REALM

My name is Nanxiong Qimu, and I am a superpower.

Telekinesis, telepathy, clairvoyance, teleportation, mind reading, future sight…

If I got serious, I could destroy all of humanity in thirty-four different ways.

If you think I was born with everything, the happiest person in the world—you're wrong.

Because everything I want to do can be done effortlessly, life has deprived me of many things—joy, tension, sadness, anger, even pain.

That's why I live by a simple creed: seal my powers, stay inconspicuous, avoid unnecessary relationships.

---

"Ding! You have received a summon request from a Lord of another world."

For a brief moment, the voice in my head made me pause.

My green-tinted glasses, which suppress my petrification ability, reflected the vastness of Earth's outer space as I instantly teleported there.

The voice just now… Was it a hallucination? No. The probability of me hallucinating is less than one in a hundred million.

"Ding! Will you respond to the summon?"

Even outer space didn't cut off the voice. In that case...

"I reject."

Whether it's summoning me to be a hero or a demon lord, I'm not interested.

Even in another world, I don't want to be noticed. I refuse to be someone's protagonist.

"Ahem."

This time, the voice changed—now it was a man speaking.

"Hey, can you hear me?"

No, I can't.

"I know you don't like trouble, but I really need your help here. Please?"

The whole world constantly needs my help. That's nothing new.

"…I've prepared four cups of premium coffee pudding for you."

…

He even knows my weakness?

Fine. I'll listen.

---

Summoned.

In an instant, my surroundings shifted—the bustling streets of a modern city stretched around me.

So, it's not another world, just another country?

"AHHHH!"

A loud scream cut through the air.

Pedestrians stopped, panic spreading. They were staring.

I followed their gazes to the reflection in a nearby store window—a young man with pink hair and two small, arcade-like antennae protruding from his head.

…Oh.

(How did this person appear out of nowhere?!)

(What's with those weird antennae?!)

(Someone call the police! A freak just showed up!)

Wait. That's not right.

I have mind control, which automatically makes people perceive me as "normal." So why is it not working?

"…Qi—God?"

A voice.

I turned to see a stunned young man staring at me.

"…It's really Qi Shen!"

Qi Shen?

This man was different. Not shocked like the others—he recognized me.

He quickly stood up and stretched out a hand.

"I'm Shen He, your summoner. Thanks for answering my call."

Summoner?

I scanned him.

Ordinary. Social elite.

Regardless, we needed to leave. Now.

I placed a hand on his shoulder and activated teleportation.

Flash!

We reappeared two kilometers away—but still in a crowded street.

"AHHHH!"

More screaming. Cars screeched to a halt.

That was not supposed to happen.

I aimed for an uninhabited area. Let's try again.

Flash!

Now we were in… a family restaurant?!

…Still within two kilometers.

That's when it hit me.

It's not that my teleportation failed.

It's that I've been weakened.

Also—why was no one screaming this time?

---

"Follow me."

Shen He had snapped back to reality and quickly grabbed my wrist, leading me through a narrow alleyway.

"Phew." He exhaled, straightening up. "This should be safe."

"What happened to my powers?"

I didn't speak—the question just appeared directly in his mind.

Shen He sighed.

"…I think I know why."

He stared at the virtual panel floating before him.

After being successfully summoned, a 3D model of me appeared on the panel, with a clear 'Level 1' in bold letters.

Clicking the enhance button revealed:

"Insufficient materials."

…So that's it.

I could already read his thoughts, but now I fully understood.

The summoning system. The restrictions. And most importantly—Shen He himself.

He was not from this world.

He was an outsider, just like me.

But unlike me, he had ambition.

"…I know the story of this world."** Shen He said, watching the sky. "In a few years, half the universe will be wiped out."

He wasn't lying.

"I'm not from this world, so I have no obligation to save it." He continued. "But unlike you—I want excitement. A life that isn't boring."

He spoke with conviction, but I already knew.

He was fully aware that I could hear his thoughts.

"…So, how do I break the contract?"

Shen He flinched.

"There's… no way."

His voice lowered.

"…You're my first ultra-rare follower. My only one."

I stared at him.

His thoughts were honest.

He had one free command per day—he could force me to act three times total.

But he didn't want to.

He didn't want to use force.

He just wanted to survive.

"I just don't want to be noticed." I finally said.

Shen He nodded.

That's when my danger sense went off.

I turned my head.

Trouble was coming.